A Nigerian woman has set a new drug-smuggling record after swallowing 180 packs of heroin.

Bola Adebisi, 52, was detained at Washington Dulles International Airport in the US after authorities discovered almost 5lbs of the drug inside her.

The passenger first made security personnel suspicious after she could not name or describe her brother, whom she said she was in the country to visit.

They found that her stomach was unusually rigid during routine checks, and later found the packets via an X-ray. The stash is said to be worth around Â£100,000 ($158,000).

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Adebisi was later taken to hospital until doctors confirmed that she had passed all of the packets.

Christopher Hess, director of customs and border patrol for Washington DC, said: "The amount of pellets and heroin this woman allegedly ingested is incredible, a serious health risk and very troubling if these numbers become the new norm."

Dulles Airport's previous record was 100 pellets of heroin by a 46-year-old man, who was also Nigerian.